The 8 best-dressed men of the week

Bar of the week: Clean Air Bar with Ketel One vodka

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

The 8 best-dressed men of the week

Bar of the week: Clean Air Bar with Ketel One vodka

Every week, we scour the city to find the best bars our capital has to offer. Whether you're a cocktail kind of guy, or a man who enjoys a decent draft beer, there's a GQ-worthy drinking spot to suit every taste.

David Gandy gives us a lesson on how to become a fashion entrepreneur

GQ Fashion Director and resident Style Shrink. Follow Robert on Twitter at @realstyleshrink.

Thursday 14 April 2016

David Gandy is probably the first male model to become a household name - and we have Richard and Judy to thank. Born in Billericay, he originally studied marketing at university but, before he graduated, his flatmate secretly entered him in a competition on ITV's This Morning to discover a new underwear model back in 2001. It was called, of course, The Complete Package, and he won. Marketing was put on hold and a stellar career was launched.

With his unusual - for a model back then - muscular physique, he soon caught the eye of Dolce & Gabbana and became a fixture in its catwalk shows and campaigns. This culminated in him appearing as the face of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue in 2007 and, thanks to a skimpy pair of white swimming trunks, he became one of the most recognisable men on the planet. The shoot by Mario Testino had more than eleven million hits and a 50ft poster of Gandy glowered over Times Square. Light Blue became one of the biggest-selling fragrances in the world, proving the power of brand Gandy.

Shoes by David Preston, £420. At coccodrillo.be

Full Stop Photography

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Having spent the past 15 years growing older annoyingly well, Gandy has now become a brand in his own right, with perhaps only David Beckham doing anything remotely similar in the world of men's style. He has become the perfect personification of the social-media age. Indeed, he was the only man to walk the Union Jack catwalk at the close of the 2012 London Olympics.

But he is far more than a pretty face, and where once he was most famous for his body, now it is his wardrobe that garners the appreciative stares. He is rapidly reinventing himself as an entrepreneur in the world of fashion and beyond. After years on the Milan catwalk, it was actually good old Marks & Spencer that inspired the transformation - as well as giving the retailer a boost. He launched the David Gandy For Autograph underwear range, which became a runaway success. Gandy consulted on the range and, indeed, came up with many of the ideas, giving him a taste for business.

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The culmination of this was the announcement last year that he was taking a controlling stake in a small London-based shoe company called David Preston. The idea of investing in fashion came from his connection with the London Collections Men when he became one of its first official ambassadors in 2012. "The British Fashion Council was telling me how the industry needed help," he recalls. "It needed advisors but, most importantly it needed investment. The British needed to be more like Americans, who seem much more willing to back great ideas."

Shoes by David Preston, £420. Boots by David Preston , £480. All at coccodrillo.be

Full Stop Photography

Like all good ideas, the specific David Preston connection came about in a fairly prosaic fashion. "I wanted to buy a new pair of Chelsea boots but didn't want to spend a fortune," he says. "Basically, I wanted a quality shoe with the design flair of Tom Ford at an attainable price. So a friend who worked for Paul Smith told me he knew a guy that made these great Cuban heels and Chelsea boots. His name was David Preston, he lived over in east London and I got in contact."

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Gandy loved his shoes. In fact, he loved the shoes so much he offered to buy the company. "He had this tiny cult following. He is very passionate but he didn't have time for the business side because he was also working as a nurse five days a week. But I liked the fact we are complete opposites. He is all creative east London while I'm west. He's rock'n'roll. But somewhere in the middle of London - in the region of Savile Row, perhaps - the Chelsea boot brought us together. We wear them in a very different way, but that's because it is such a versatile piece of footwear."

The new David Preston range was launched as 15 pieces including brogues, Oxfords and monk straps - as well as, of course, Chelsea boots. The philosophy of the company is simple, says Gandy: "We want to rival the best at an attainable price."

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Apart from shoes, his other love is cars - specifically his 1960 Mercedes 190 SL. He didn't so much buy it as get interviewed to ascertain if he was a suitable owner. "It was the first one brought over by the guy who started the Mercedes-Benz Club. The family was, rightly, precious about who was going to carry on with it."

Normally, however, he eschews extravagances. "I've been brought up to respect money. Everything I buy has to be good value. Half the contents of my house were bought on eBay and Gumtree. I'll be honest and say that the more I've had, the more I've treated myself. When I first earned a bit of money, it was the Omega Speedmaster and it's still my favourite watch in the world. My father would never forgive me if I wasted money. Indeed, I've actually turned into him and do things like making sure all the lights are turned off before I leave the house."